US State Dept Sees Investment Prospects in Greece as Positive  

The US State Department considers investment prospects in Greece as being positive, according to its latest Investment Climate Statement.

Among others, it cites government reforms, the digitization of government services, the decrease in Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio, low debt servicing rates as well as sovereign debt rating upgrades by most ratings agencies as reasons for the positive prospect of investing in the country.

“The Mitsotakis government has pursued an aggressive investment and economic reform agenda,” said the State Dept statement which is aimed at helping US companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climate in more than 165 countries and economies that are current or potential markets for US companies.

Additionally, it says, the health of Greece’s banking system has improved significantly following the financial crisis.

Greek Prime Minster Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Microsoft President Brad Smith Photo Source: @Brad Smith

According to the statement, the Greek government maintains an estimated 38 billion dollar cash liquidity buffer as of June 2022. The country remains subject to post-program surveillance monitoring by euro area creditors until it repays 75 percent of financial assistance, expected in 2059.

At the same time, however, a total of 32 billion euros in European Recovery and Relief Facility (RRF) funds are set to flow into the country over the next five years and drive strong growth.

The State Department report concludes that Greece’s return to economic growth has generated new investor interest. From 2011-2022, the US was the 8th largest source of foreign direct investment in Greece. Key of these and expected to have an economic impact worth billions of dollars over the next few years are those by Applied Materials, AWS, Cisco, Deloitte, Digital Realty, Google, JP  Morgan, Meta, Microsoft, and Pfizer.